


We Build, Then We Break

by JoulesIsIronic



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-28
Updated: 2013-08-28
Packaged: 2017-12-24 21:45:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/945005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoulesIsIronic/pseuds/JoulesIsIronic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Scott returns home in the aftermath of his confrontation with the darach, all he wants to do is sleep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Build, Then We Break

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Мы сами ломаем то, что построили](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2084958) by [MrStiles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrStiles/pseuds/MrStiles)



After a long, tiring day of mystical vision journeys and fighting psychotic, power-hungry villains, Scott is both physically and emotionally exhausted. One might think sixteen hours unconscious would bring about a feeling of restlessness; however, in actuality, one would be very, very wrong. Regardless of super-werewolf healing and newfound Alpha powers, Scott is completely and utterly drained.

So when Scott finally, begrudgingly releases his mom from his death-grip of a hug, his first destination of choice is his room. As he sluggishly trods up the stairs, with Isaac trailing in his wake, he dreams of his inviting, king-sized bed; he can picture himself sinking into the mattress and cuddling into the fluffy, overstuffed pillows, falling into a deep sleep instantly for a number of hours that falls somewhere in the double-digits.

He’s so out of it that he doesn’t even realize Isaac is muttering something behind him until the other teen gently grabs his shoulder just before he can pull the door open. Isaac shuffles his feet, a pained look on his face.

Scott knows that look. It’s the same look Isaac wore the first time a plate slipped through his fingers in the kitchen and shattered on the ground.

In as gentle a voice as he can muster, he asks, “Isaac, what’s wrong?”

Since Isaac moved in, Scott has picked up on a lot of the beta’s habits and behaviors. So when Isaac crosses his arms over his chest and glances anywhere but his face, Scott knows it’s a protective stance – a defensive stance.

“Look, I kind of fucked up while you were under,” is what comes out of Isaac’s mouth when he finally speaks.

Scott nods like he understands. “That’s okay. Everyone messes up sometimes. What happened?”

There’s a noticeable slouch to his shoulders when Isaac glances at his expression – as if some of the tension has drained away, now that he’s seen Scott calm – and the teen grabs the doorknob and pushes into the room.

Immediately, Scott realizes why Isaac looked so nervous: Scott’s bed – his precious, glorious bed – is in tatters. The dark sheets are literally shredded, as if clawed apart by a wild animal. Scott can see bits of stuffing shooting out from his mattress in tufts where the slices cut too deep. What were once his pillows now look like the remains of a bloodless fight between two large, furious birds with grudges. 

“Dude, what happened?” Scott can’t help asking. The words leave his lips before he can stop them – before he can make them sound less accusatory.

Because there’s a part of him – a tiny, petty part – that desperately wants to go to bed and that weeps internally over his destroyed fortress of sleepdom. But the rest of him, after a second to overcome the shock, realizes a few gouges aren’t going to keep him from sleeping there. It’s not really a big deal. The important thing part is what caused the claw marks – is the thing that upset Isaac enough to lash out (if he was, in fact, the one who did this – which, judging by the lack of other scents in his bedroom and Isaac’s own behavior, seems to be the case). 

He isn’t angry about what happened to his bed; he’s worried.

Now he just needs to make sure Isaac knows that, too.

Before Scott can apologize, Isaac is already speaking, his eyes glued to the floor all the while. 

“It was an accident. I didn’t mean for it to happen, I swear. I’m so sorry. I never meant…”

“It’s okay,” Scott interrupts gently, moving to place a hand on Isaac’s shoulder. Isaac flinches away and then looks absolutely horrified that he did. “I’m not angry with you, Isaac. It’s okay, really.”

Isaac nods, frowning, looking completely wrung as he runs a hand through his curls. Scott notices that he still won’t look him in the eye.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Scott asks. He won’t push if Isaac says no; he’s not that big of an asshole. But he hopes the other teen will open up.

“It was a nightmare,” Isaac admits, and his arms are wrapped around his chest again, less like their crossed and more like he’s hugging himself. Watching Isaac’s movement stabs at something in Scott’s chest, and he realizes that he’d rather be the one with his arms around Isaac – that he wants to be the one to offer comfort, rather than Isaac’s default, needing to comfort himself.

But he doesn’t want to push him, not when he looks as vulnerable as he does, so he nods, encouraging Isaac to continue.

The other teen meets his eyes briefly. He gnaws at his bottom lip before going on. 

“It happened when you were under.” Isaac glances up, as if to gauge Scott’s reaction before proceeding. “I wasn’t going to leave, I swear. But Deaton realized you’d be out for a while and I was dead on my feet. He said I’d be useless to you if I didn’t get some sleep. It felt ridiculous coming back here without you or Melissa, you know. Completely wrong. But I just… I didn’t want to be a burden. I didn’t know what else I could do.”

Isaac pauses, staring at the bed.

“I couldn’t sleep in the guest room. I just… It didn’t feel right.” 

Scott wants to correct him – to remind him that it’s _his_ room, not the guest room – but Isaac plods on and Scott fears that if he interrupts, Isaac will freeze up.

“So I came in here. It’s your room, I know that. But it… it felt _safe_ , and I needed that, so I did it, okay?”

The way he looks at Scott, it’s as though he expects him to be angry.

“That’s okay,” Scott tells him, because he feels like it’s something Isaac needs to hear. “You’re always welcome in here.”

“I ruined your bed.” Isaac states, sounding baffled by Scott’s level of calm. “I completely destroyed your property.”

“It’s just a bed,” Scott says, because it’s is. It’s replaceable. Hell, it’s probably even fixable.

“God, if that was my dad’s bed, do you know what he would have done? And he was my _dad_.”

There’s a new edge to Isaac’s voice, bordering on hysteria, and this time Scott can’t prevent himself from closing the distance between them and wrapping Isaac in a firm, but gentle hug. There’s a hitch in Isaac’s breathing; then he can feel the other boy sobbing against him, still towering over him as he clutches at Scott like a life preserver. 

“Fuck, I was so scared you weren’t going to come out of it. That I would lose you. That we wouldn’t save your mom. That I was going to be alone, completely alone. Again. And I couldn’t… I just… And I still couldn’t sleep, you know. I woke up in less than an hour, fucking wolfed out, and… just… just _fuck_.”

Scott’s fingers find their way into Isaac’s hair, stroking, as his other lingers on his lower back, holding them together.

“I can’t lose you,” Isaac is whispering. “Not you.”

Scott grips at him tighter, looking up at Isaac as his hand slides down to cup the teen’s cheek. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Promise?” Isaac asks, but it comes out as a frantic half-sob, half-laugh.

“Promise,” Scott affirms.

A fire burns in his chest at the notion of Isaac suffering through everything alone. What the teen needs is support, comfort, _love_. Until moving into the McCall household, he had no one. His father was abusive, and his last alpha was emotionally unavailable. Neither could offer much of anything. Scott, at least, has his mom, Stiles, and Allison. But Isaac?

But Scott wants to be that for him. That sense of safety and sanctuary. A reprieve from the loneliness he’s endured.

And Scott is realizing that he needs him, too; he knows viscerally how deeply entwined Isaac’s life has become with his. He’s aware of how much he wants to wrap himself in the other boy’s warmth and never let go. 

When he kisses him, he tells himself it was pure instinct – adrenaline even – until Isaac kisses back desperately, clinging to Scott as the kiss deepens.

They don’t say anything else because they don’t need to. As one, they fall onto the tattered and torn bed, their bodies curled into each other, clutching for dear life. 

And when they finally fall asleep, they do so with their hands grasped and with soft smiles on their lips.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this post on my friend's tumblr: http://stormyladydoesscience.tumblr.com/post/59442343130/isaac-is-literally-that-puppy-who-destroys-the-house
> 
> [I'm sorry, I still haven't figured out how to embed links]
> 
> It was supposed to be fluff. It turned into emotional hurt/comfort. Oops.
> 
> A big Thank You to Stormysaslytherin for general beta'ing and reworking an entire section! Thanks for being your amazing, awesome self! :)
> 
> Update: As of August 5th, 2014, this fic has now been translated into Russian by the fantastic [ MrStiles ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/MrStiles/pseuds/MrStiles/), and can be found [ here ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2084958/).


End file.
